Railway rail and fastening assembly



Aug. 29, 1967 RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Filed March 17. 19671.. s. SANSON 3,338,521-

United States Patent Office 3,338,521 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338 521RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY Leopold Stewart Sanson, Sutton,England, assignor to Lockspike Limited, London, England, a Britishcompany Filed Mar. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 624,026 11 Claims. (Cl. 238349)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-in-part ofmy copending application Serial Number 552,625, filed May 24, 1966.

This invention relates to a railway rail and fastening assembly.

According to the invention, there is provided a railway rail andfastening assembly comprising a wooden railway sleeper or tie, aflange-footed rail extending crosswise over the sleeper or tie, ananchorage member fixed with respect to the sleeper or tie and affordinga horizontal passage which is closed at the top and open at least at oneend and extends beside the rail and substantially parallel thereto, afixed unyielding surface which, as seen from the rail, is disposedoutward of said passage, and a railway railfastening member comprising alength of resilient metal having, progressing from one end of the lengthof metal to the other, a first portion in the form of a substantiallystraight leg which projects into said one end of said passage, then asecond portion, then a third portion which, when the assembly is viewedfrom above, appears to be on one side of the axis of said first portion,then a fourth portion, then a fifth portion which, when the assembly isviewed from above, appears to be on the opposite side of said axis, saidthird and fifth portions bearing one upon the top of the rail flange andthe other upon said surface and one of said second and fourth portionshaving a part which crosses and lies above a part of the other of theseportions.

Said fixed unyielding anchorage member.

The anchorage member may be a cast iron or rolled steel or pressed steelbase plate which lies on the sleeper or tie and extends underneath therail and has on one side of the rail a part in which said passage isformed and has on the opposite side of the rail a similar part in whicha similar passage is formed and into which projects the first portion ofanother railway rail-fastening member similar to the one mentionedabove. The base plate may be held on the sleeper or tie with screws orspikes.

The words sleeper and tie are synonymous and only the former word isused in the following description.

The term retaining member is also used in some places in thisspecification to denote the anchorage member.

The rail-fastening member may be of one or the other of two basicshapes. The first, which may for convenience be called a left-handrail-fastening member, comprises a length of resilient metal of rod formwhich is bent so as to have, progressing from one end of the length ofsurface may be a portion of the metal to the other, a first portionWhich constitutes a substantially straight leg, then a second portion,then a third portion, then a fourth portion and then a fifth portion,these portions being such that the rail-fastening member can be placedin a particular position with the first portion horizontal and extendingfrom south to north, said one end .of the rail-fastening member being atthe south end of the first portion, and in that position the secondportion of the rail-fastening member extends, from the first portiontowards the third portion, firstly upwardly and at the same timesubstantially towards the north, then upwardly and at the same timesubstantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at the sametime substantially towards the south-east, then downwardly and at thesame time substantially towards the north, the third portion extends,from the second portion to the fourth portion, substantiallyhorizontally and substantially towards the north, and the fourth portionextends, from the third portion to the fifth portion, upwardly and atthe same time substantially in a westerly direction and crosses andpasses below the second portion and crosses and passes above the firstportion and proceeds to the fifth portion, the construction being suchthat when the rail-fastening member is in said particular position andis viewed from above the third and fifth portions appear to be onopposite sides of the axis of the first portion. The second form ofrail-fastening member which may for convenience be called a right-handrail-fastening member, comprises a length of resilient metal of rod formwhich is bent so as to have, progressing from one end of the length ofmetal to the other, a first portion which constitutes a substantiallystraight leg, then a second portion, then a third portion, then a fourthportion and then a fifth portion, these portions being such that therail-fastening member can be placed in a particular position with thefirst portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one endof the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the firstportion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fasteningmember extends, from the first portion towards the third portion,firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north,then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west,then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards thesouth-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towardsthe north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to thefourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards thenorth, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to thefifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in aneasterly direction and crosses and passes below the second portion andcrosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifthportion, the construction being such that when the rail-fastening memberis in said particular position and is viewed from above the third andfifth portions appear to be on opposite sides of the axis of the firstportion.

The fourth portion, after extending upwardly and substantially in awesterly direction (in the case of a lefthand rail-fastening member) orupwardly and substantially in an easterly direction (in the case of arighthand rail-fastening The fifth portion of both a left-hand and aright-hand rail-fastening member may extend, from the fourth portion tothe other end of the length of metal, substantially horizontally and atthe same time substantially to the north.

By using :above the word substantially in relation to certaindirections, we intend to embrace also cases where the true directiondeparts by as much as 30 on either side from the indicated direction.

The rail-fastening members are preferably made from spring steel andthey are preferably made from rods of member) may extend downwardly.

circular cross-section at least A inch in diameter and, in most cases,at least 1 centimetre in diameter.

Examples in accordance with the invention are described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a side view of a wooden railway sleeper with arolled steel base plate on it,

FIGURE 2 shows a plan view of one shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 shows a side view of a left-hand railfastening member, taken asindicated by the arrow III in FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 4 shows a side view of the same rail-fastening member, taken asindicated by the arrow IV in FIG- URE 3,

FIGURE 5 shows a plan view of the same rail-fastening member, in theattitude in which it is used, and also shows the directions north,south, east and west, and

FIGURE 6 shows a view, corresponding to FIGURE 5, of a right-handrail-fastening member.

FIGURES 1 and 2 show a flange-footed railway rail 1 resting on a rolledsteel base plate 2 which is placed on the top of a wooden railwaysleeper 3, the rail being crosswise with respect to the sleeper. Thebase plate is secured to the sleeper by screws (not shown) passingthrough holes 4 or by spikes. On each side of the rail, the base plateis formed with an upwardly projecting rib 5 and the rail is seatedbetween these ribs and located by them. Horizontal passages 6 are formedunder the ribs and they extend beside the rail and parallel to it, thefull width of the base plate, and they are closed at the top and open atboth ends. On each side of the rail there is also a fixed unyieldingsurface being part of the upper surface of the base plate, whichsurface, as seen from the rail, is disposed outward of the passage 6which is on that side of the rail. One of these surfaces is marked 2A inFIGURE 2.

side of what is Referring now to FIGURES 3 to 5, the numbers 21 to 25respectively denote the first, second, third, fourth and fifth portions,mentioned above, of a rail-fastening member but the numbers 22 and 24have sufiixes to indicate different parts of the second and fourthportions. The first portion 21 is a straight leg and is shown in FIGURE5 in a horizontal position extending south to north, the end of the legwhich constitutes one end of the length of metal being the southern end.Proceeding from the first portion 21 to the third portion 23, the secondportion extends upwardly and to the north at the part marked 22A,upwardly only at the part marked 22B, upwardly and roughly to thesouth-east at the part marked 22C, horizontally and roughly to thesouth-east at the part marked 22D, downwardly and roughly to thesouth-east at the part marked 22E, downwardly only at the part marked22F and downwardly and to the north at the part marked 22G. The thirdportion 23 is very short and horizontal and, proceeding from the secondportion 22 to the fourth portion 24, it extends in a northerlydirection. The fourth portion 24, proceeding from the third portion 23to the fifth portion 25, extends upwardly and to the north at the partmarked 24A, then upwardly and to the west at the part marked 24B, thenhorizontally and to the West at the part marked 24C, then, in the partmarked 24D, downwardly first slightly to the north of west, then to thenorth-west and then to the north. The fifth portion 25 extendshorizontally towards the north and terminates at the other end of thelength of metal.

If desired, the fourth portion 24 need not have the descending part 24Dbut could continue horizontally to the fifth portion 25. The fifthportion 25 could extend, proceeding away from the fourth portion 24,towards the south instead of towards the north, in which case the part24D would be modified to give a smooth transition from the part 24C tothe portion 25.

The shape of the right-hand rail-fastening member will be apparent fromwhat has been stated above and from FIGURE 6, in which partscorresponding to those 4 shown in FIGURES 3 to 5 bear the same referencecharacters. The parts 22C, 22D and 22E extend roughly towards thesouth-west, proceeding away from the first portion 21, and the parts 24Band 24C extend in substantially an easterly direction, proceeding awayfrom the third portion 23.

Two right-hand or two left-hand fastening members as described above canbe used to hold the rail shown in FIGURES 1 land 2 to the base plate.The first portion 21 of one fastening member is driven into one end ofone of the passages 6 and the first portion 21 of the other fasteningmember is driven into the opposite end of the other passage 6, i.e. thefastening members are driven in opposite directions. Alternatively, oneright-hand and one left-hand fastening member may be employed, in whichcase the fastening members are driven in the same direction into thepassages 6. Either the portions 25 of the fastening members bear uponthe top of the rail flange and the portions 23 upon the surfaces 2A, orthe portions 25 bear upon the surfaces 2A and the portions 23 upon thetop of the rail-flange.

The base plate could be wider, wide enough to accommodate one fasteningmember driven into each end of each passage 6. It could be made of castiron and could have upstanding projections, corresponding to the ribs 5,and passages of circular cross-section passing through them,corresponding to the passages 6. The passages could each be open at oneend only, in which case the fastening members are driven into the openends.

When the complete assembly of the sleeper, the base plate, the rail andthe fastening members is viewed from above, the third portion 23 and thefifth portion 25 of each fastening member appear to be on opposite sidesof the axis of the first portion 21 of that fastening member. One of thesecond and fourth portions of each fastening member has a part whichcrosses and lies above a part of the other of these portions. In theillustrated cases, the second portion 22 has a part 22D which crossesand lies above a part 240 of the fourth portion 24, but instead a partof the fourth portion 24 could cross and lie above a part of the secondportion 22.

I claim:

1. A railway rail and fastening assembly comprising a wooden railwaysleeper or tie, a flange-footed rail extending crosswise over thesleeper or tie, an anchorage member fixed with respect to the sleeper ortie and affording a horizontal passage which is closed at the top andopen at least at one end and extends beside the rail and substantiallyparallel thereto, a fixed unyielding surface which, as seen from therail, is disposed outward of said passage, and a railway rail-fasteningmember comprising a length of resilient metal having, progressing fromone end of the length of metal to the other, a first portion in the formof a substantially straight leg which projects into said one end of saidpassage, then a second portion, then a third portion which, when theassembly is viewed from above, appears to be on one side of the axis ofsaid first portion, then a fourth portion, then a fifth portion which,when the assembly is viewed from above, appears to be on the oppositeside of said axis, said third and fifth portions bearing one upon thetop of the rail flange and the other upon said surface and one of saidsecond and fourth portions having a part which crosses and lies above apart of the other of these portions.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said railway rail-fasteningmember is such that it can be placed in a particular position with thefirst portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one endof the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the firstportion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fasteningmember extends, from the first portion towards the third portion,firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north,then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-east,then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards thesouth-east, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towardsthe north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to thefourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards thenorth, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to thefifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in a westerlydirection and crosses and passes below the second portion and crossesand passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifth portion.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said fourth portion, afterextending upwardly and substantially in a westerly direction, extendsdownwardly.

4. An assembly according to claim 2 wherein said fifth portion extends,from the 'fourth portion to the other end of the length of metal,substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially to thenorth.

5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said railway rail-fasteningmember is such that it can be placed in a particular position with thefirst portion horizontal and extending from south to north, said one endof the rail-fastening member being at the south end of the firstportion, and in that position the second portion of the rail-fasteningmember extends, from the first portion towards the third portion,firstly upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the north,then upwardly and at the same time substantially towards the south-west,then downwardly and at the same time substantially towards thesouth-west, then downwardly and at the same time substantially towardsthe north, the third portion extends, from the second portion to thefourth portion, substantially horizontally and substantially towards the6 north, and the fourth portion extends, from the third portion to thefifth portion, upwardly and at the same time substantially in aneasterly direction and crosses the passes below the second portion andcrosses and passes above the first portion and proceeds to the fifthportion.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein said fourth portion, afterextending upwardly and substantially in an easterly direction, extendsdownwardly.

7.- An assembly according to claim 5, wherein said fifth portionextends, from the fourth portion to the other end of the length ofmetal, substantially horizontally and at the same time substantially tothe north.

'8. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the anchorage member is abase plate which extends beneath the rail and on both sides thereof andis secured to the sleeper.

9. An assembly according to claim 8, wherein the base plate is formedwith two upwardly projecting ribs which extend parallel to the length ofthe rail and between which the rail is seated.

10. An assembly according to claim 9, wherein the passage mentioned inclaim 1 is underneath one of the ribs.

11. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fixed unyieldingsurface mentioned in claim 1 is part of said anchorage member.

No references cited.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

1. A RAILWAY RAIL AND FASTENING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A WOODEN RAILWAYSLEEPER O TIE, A FLANGE-FOTTED RAIL EXTENDING CROSSWISE OVER THE SLEEPEROR TIE, AN ANCHORAGE MEMBER FIXED WITH RESPECT TO THE SLEEPER OR TIE ANDAFFORDING A HORIZONTAL PASSAGE WHICH IS CLOSED AT THE TOP AND OPEN ATLEAST AT ONE END AND EXTENDS BESIDE THE RAIL AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELTHERETO, A FIXED UNYIELDING SURFACE WHICH, AS SEEN FROM THE RAIL, ISDISPOSED OUTWARD OF SAID PASSAGE, AND A RAILWAY RAIL-FASTENING MEMBERCOMPRISING A LENGTH OF RESILIENT METAL HAVING, PROGRESSING FROM ONE ENDOF THE LENGTH OF METAL TO THE OTHER, A FIRST PORTION IN THE FORM OF ASUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT LEG WHICH PROJECTS INTO SAID ONE END OF SAIDPASSAGE, THEN A SECOND PORTION, THEN